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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29560149">Sleep Deprivation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingInTheSliverGlow/pseuds/DancingInTheSliverGlow'>DancingInTheSliverGlow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Febuwhump 2021 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MacGyver (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A little bit dark, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Based on a Tumblr Post, Bleeding, Codex - Freeform, Developing Friendships, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Epic Friendship, Episode Related, Episode: s05e05 Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO, FebuWhump2021, Febuwhump, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hallucinations, He's just kept awake with loud music, Hurt, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt/Comfort, I Blame Tumblr, Inspired By Tumblr, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Psychological Torture, Revenge, Short One Shot, Sleep Deprivation, Team as Family, Torture, Tumblr, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, loud noises</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:33:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,582</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29560149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingInTheSliverGlow/pseuds/DancingInTheSliverGlow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Mac wakes up, he notices that he's in a cell. All the walls are white, and the ceiling is covered in painfully bright fluorescent lights. The rest of the room is disturbingly bare. There’s a toilet with a few rolls of toilet paper. </p><p>This eerily reminds him of his last manniversary with Jack. Griggs had kidnapped Jack and him, and tortured them for days. Mac pushes the memory aside and desperately wishes that this isn’t a solo repeat.</p><p>Suddenly a deafening noise starts playing. The noise sears through his head, and hurts his brain. Mac curls up into a ball, hands pressed at tight as he can against his ears.</p><p>After what feels like hours, the noise abruptly stops. Eventually he uncurls from his ball and sits up. There’s a drop of blood on his hand, presumably from his ear, but right now that’s the least of his problems.</p><p>Whoever is holding him captive doesn’t want him to sleep. They’re not making demands, and considering the fact that they didn’t leave any food for Mac, they don’t expect him to survive long.</p><p>(Don't worry, Mac doesn't die).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Dalton &amp; Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis &amp; Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Samantha Cage &amp; Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Samantha Cage &amp; Riley Davis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Febuwhump 2021 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137995</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>febuwhump 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sleep Deprivation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first thing Mac notices as he slowly wakes up, is the throbbing in his head. He winces and the sharp pain radiates from a single point just above his hairline. There’s something wet dripping down the side of  his face. Water? Or blood? Mac raises his hands to touch the side of his face, and then cracks his eyes open to look at his hands.</p><p>At first, he can’t see anything. The entire room is lit up by intense, bright white fluorescent light. It stings his eyes, and it takes several minutes for him to get used to it. Eventually, his eyes adapt, and Mac spots drops of blood on his hand from his head injury.</p><p>Okay. </p><p>Mac slowly sits up, and looks around. He… he actually doesn’t know where he is. All the walls are white, and the ceiling is covered in fluorescent lights. It’s so bright that it's painful to look at, so Mac keeps his eyes down. </p><p>The rest of the room is disturbingly bare. There’s a toilet (without a seat) in the corner along with a few rolls of toilet paper. That’s it. </p><p> </p><p>This eerily reminds him of his last manniversary with Jack. Griggs had kidnapped Jack and him, and tortured him for days. It’s not a fond memory, and Mac pushes it aside and severely wishes that this isn’t a solo repeat.</p><p>Mac uses the water from the back of the toilet, some of the toilet paper and a ripped piece of his shirt to create a make-shift bandage for his head. It’ll have to work for the time being; there’s not much else he can do.</p><p>Over the next few hours, Mac examines every inch of the room. It’s not big, only about 9 by 12 feet, but Mac studies it for any cracks or weaknesses, or potentially hidden cameras. By the end, Mac comes to the conclusion that the walls are solid, which means that Mac would have had to come through the ceiling, which was covered in light. </p><p>Mac takes an inventory of everything he has. A toilet, possibly unlimited amount of water, and the clothes he’s wearing. His belt has been removed, along with his shoes and everything in his pockets.</p><p>That sucks, because Mac could’ve used the contents along with the shades he was sure he had before he was knocked unconscious to create something to let him examine the ceiling. Instead, Mac figures he’ll have to go blind.</p><p>Hesitantly, Mac steps on to the toilet, carefully making sure that his socks won’t cause him to slide and land in the water in the center. He keeps his eyes down, puts one hand on the closest wall for stability and hesitantly raises the other arm to touch the lights. </p><p>His hand touches the light and <em>burns. </em></p><p>Mac cries out, slips off the toilet and falls. He lands hard, his head hitting the floor and he sees double. He winces, closes his eyes and stays on the floor willing the ringing in his ears to stop.</p><p>Suddenly, loud, deafening metal music erupts through the room. Mac clamps his hands over his ears and curls into a ball.</p><p>The music is loud, it’s deafening and Mac can’t even hear himself talk. The beat thumps with his heartbeat, and his head feels like it’s going to explode. Mac curls into a ball and tries to ignore the sound, the pain and hopes that it’ll pass.</p><p>After a few moments it does. Mac waits a few moments before uncurling out of his ball, and bearilly looking around, his ears still ringing. Mac’s heart sinks, and he despairs.</p><p>It looks like this will be a repeat of Griggs torture, except this time Jack isn’t here.</p><p>… </p><p>Mac tries to investigate the ceiling twice more, and each time the sound comes blaring through the speakers, startling him into falling, and making his ears ring. Each time, Mac could swear that the volume increases and the deafening music plays for even longer. The third time, Mac feels something wet in his left ear. He touches it with his hand, and looks at it. Blood.</p><p>Mac doesn’t attempt to go near the ceiling after that.</p><p>But at least he knows that he’s being watched.</p><p>After that, Mac tries to communicate. He yells, asking, demanding to know why he’s here. He asks what they want from him. He even says he’ll co-operate with whatever they want, but there’s no reply.</p><p>Eventually, Mac gives up on asking, his throat sore from all the yelling. </p><p>His whole body throbs from the falls, noise and his head wound. But more than that, Mac feels tired. There’s not much for comfort in the room, but Mac makes do. He grabs some of the toilet paper rolls, flattens them and then rests his head on it and covers his eyes with his arm.</p><p>Instantly, the deafening noise is back. The noise sears through his head, and hurts his brain. He can’t even think of anything besides how much it hurts and Mac wants it to stop, but there’s literally nothing he can do. Mac curls up into a ball, hands pressed at tight as he can against his ears.</p><p>After what feels like hours, the noise abruptly stops. Mac barely notices it; the ringing in his ears is that  intense. Eventually he uncurls from his ball and sits up. There’s a drop of blood on his hand, presumably from his ear, but right now that’s the least of his problems.</p><p>Whoever is holding him captive doesn’t want him to sleep. They’re not making demands, and considering the fact that they didn’t leave any food for Mac, they don’t expect him to survive long.</p><p>… </p><p>After being abducted by Griggs with Jack, Mac had discovered that the typical human could survive without sleep (but with food and water) for about 11 days, although after only 3-4 days they will begin to hallucinate. </p><p>Considering that Mac’s spent just over half a day here by his estimates, that gives him about 2-3 days to escape. He needs to up his game. </p><p>Mac grabs a few squares of toilet paper, dampens it and then rolls them into little balls and sticks them into his ears. Then he gets two huge wads of toilet paper using up an entire roll. He gently dampens those, and tears a couple long strips of his shirt off. Then he fastens the wads of toilet papers over his ears tightly.</p><p>Mac knows that it won’t block out the sound, but it should take the edge off. At least, long enough for Mac to start investigating the ceiling again. </p><p>He needs to get out. </p><p>Mac steps up on the toilet again and reaches for the ceiling. Immediately, the deafening noise blares again and Mac flinches, but his earbuds work. Mac can still hear the music loudly, it still hurts his ears but he can still - somewhat - think. </p><p>The lights are still blindly light and Mac keeps his eyes down as he feels around them. He feels scorching  long bulbs hanging, all of them resting parallel to each other about an inch apart. </p><p>The music blares even louder, but Mac takes his hand off the wall, clamps it over one ear, grits his teeth and keeps going.</p><p>Mac carefully pushes a few of the bulbs to the side, enough that he can fit his hand through. He goes on his toes and stretching up, looking, feeling - </p><p>His hand touches something like a metal wire grid and instantly an electric jolt has intense pain travelling up his arm.</p><p>Mac crashes to the ground, head hitting the toilet.</p><p>He’s almost disappointed that he didn’t lose consciousness. </p><p>The deafening noise blares on.</p><p>His whole hand is numb and burning at the same time, and he whimpers. The pain, the sleep deprivation, the noise, all of it, it was too much. Mac wants to go home, back to Bozer, back to Riley. He wants to be on his couch, curled up on the couch with his family around him.</p><p>But eventually logic pushes past, and Mac drags himself up to the toilet and shoves his hand in the water. Immediately the burning starts to faintly dim. It still hurts immensely, but the water helps.</p><p>Eventually after what’s probably an hour, the music turns off.</p><p>… </p><p>There’s no escape.</p><p>Mac packs damp toilet paper around his injured arm and examines the room again. He stays away from the ceiling. Everytime the noise turns on, the time it stays on increases twice fold. The last time it stayed for about an hour, and Mac isn’t eager for two hours of deafening torture.</p><p>There’s nothing to do, and idly Mac wonders if the sleep deprivation or the boredom will kill him first as he leans on one of the walls and rolls the last roll of toilet paper back and forth.</p><p>Considering the pain in his head and eyes, Mac’s money is on sleep deprivation. </p><p>The only way Mac is escaping alive is if the Phoenix finds him.</p><p>By his estimates, he only has a day left before he starts hallucinating.</p><p>… </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Mac sees movement. His head snaps to it, but there’s nothing.</p><p>He laughs.</p><p>The hallucinations have started.</p><p>He has officially started dying.</p><p>…</p><p>This time, when Mac sees movement out of the corner of his eye and he turns, there’s a spider on the wall. </p><p>Huh.</p><p>He wonders if it’s real.</p><p>He blinks and it's gone. </p><p> Mac thinks that it's good the spider doesn’t exist. No other living thing should have to endure this.</p><p>… </p><p>Mac is so tired. He can’t keep his eyes open; they keep falling shut on their own accord.</p><p>Thankfully, his captor seems to help with that.</p><p>The music plays consistently now. The deafening metal is always on. </p><p>Always, always, always.</p><p>Or maybe just the two hours?</p><p>Mac figures it doesn’t matter either way. Two hours is forever, as far as he’s able to tell. </p><p>He splashes water on his face and stands up.</p><p> Maybe if he starts walking around, his captor will see that he’s making an effort to stay awake and turn off the music?</p><p>… </p><p>The music doesn’t turn off.</p><p>Instead, Mac sees Jack out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>He turns, surprised and relieved, only to see blank white walls.</p><p>Mac’s wishes that Jack didn’t disappear. </p><p>He thinks that seeing and talking to a hallucination of his dead partner would be better than pacing in this cell alone.</p><p>...</p><p>It takes a couple of hours, but eventually when Mac turns to the hallucination of Jack, Jack is still here. </p><p>Jack smiles at him, and Mac smiles back.</p><p>Mac blinks, and Jack is gone.</p><p>Mac slumps down against the wall, and waits for Jack to reappear. </p><p>… </p><p>This time, when Jack appears, he doesn’t leave.</p><p>He leans on the wall opposite Mac, and says something. </p><p>Mac can’t hear him over the deafening metal music, but he can read lips.</p><p>“You’re never getting out of here,” Jack says.</p><p>Mac looks away.</p><p>… </p><p>Mac is in the middle of trying to figure out who his captor is - he’s run a couple theories by Jack and they both agree that Codex is the most likely - when something happens.</p><p>At first, Mac can’t tell what it is. He knows something changed but he doesn’t know what. Jack is still sitting on the wall adjacent to him, his knee propped up and head resting on the wall. The lights are still on, painful as ever on his eyes. The toilet is still there and the music - </p><p>-the music is gone. </p><p>The ringing in Mac’s ears is still there, of course. It’s nearly the same volume as how loud the music was but the fact is, the music is gone.</p><p>Mac doesn’t know what that means.</p><p>Maybe it means nothing?</p><p>Jack shakes his head. “It means you’re dead, Mac!” He laughs.</p><p>Mac laughs with him. </p><p>Mac is dead. </p><p>It’s funny.</p><p>…</p><p>Something else is happening. </p><p>The lights are moving. </p><p>Some of them are turning off.</p><p>Jack says that it’s like the lights in the sky. Sometimes the fizzle out.</p><p>Mac hums in agreement. Sometimes they just fizzle out. Poof - and then they’re gone.</p><p>Kinda like him and Jack.</p><p>It’s a funny thought, and Mac laughs.</p><p>Suddenly, a few of the lights fall on the ground and crack.</p><p>Jack swears and climbs to his feet. “You coulda hit me, you bastard!!”</p><p>Two black ropes appear from the ceiling, and Riley and Cage slide down.</p><p>Mac grins. “Heyy guysss!” He slurs. </p><p>Cage and Riley look at each other worried. They say something, but it's too fast and it goes straight over his head.</p><p>Riley repeats, slower. “Mac, we’re getting you out of here?”</p><p>Mac frowns. “Okay, but what about Jack?”</p><p>Riley flinches, her expression hurt and Cage frowns. “Jack?”</p><p>“Yea, he’s right there.” Mac points at Jack, who leans on the wall and waves at Riley and Cage.</p><p>Jack winks at them. “Heyya fellas. Long time no see.”</p><p>“Mac, Jack is dead.” Cage says hesitantly.</p><p>Her words don’t make any sense, because Jack <em>is right there. </em></p><p>“No he’s not! He’s literally right here!” Mac staggers towards Jack and tries to put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. </p><p>It falls straight through.</p><p>He tries again.</p><p>It falls straight through, again. And again.</p><p>Jack smiles at him. “Surprise!” </p><p>… </p><p>Mac goes silent, catatonic. He barely responds as Cage and Riley hook him up to a harness and bring him out of the room. By the time that he’s at the top, he’s unconscious. </p><p>Tears are slipping from Riley’s eyes, and Cage shakes her head at Bozer and Matty. </p><p>“He’s alive, but it’s not good.”</p><p>… </p><p>He wakes up in a hospital. The bright fluorescent lights trigger him, and he rips out all his IVs. Riley jumps and calls for the doctors, and they come pouring into the room and hold Mac down. Mac fights them with all he has, until one of them injects some morphine into him, and Mac drifts back to sleep.</p><p>The next time Mac wakes, most of the lights are off. There’s only a single fluorescent light on by the entrance, and the dim light from Riley’s phone.</p><p>Mac croaks, asking for water and Riley scrambles to get it.</p><p>When he’s done drinking, he asks her. “What happened?”</p><p>Riley looks at him, heartbreak in her face. “You don’t remember?”</p><p>Mac shakes his head. “I do, but I don’t know how much of it was real.”</p><p>Riley summarizes it for him. Ramon, previously the head of security of Codex, had kidnapped him and planned to torture him to death via. sleep exhaustion, as revenge for foiling their plans to bring doomsday. It had taken the phoenix a day to realize that he was missing, and three days to locate him. Riley tells him that the burn on his hand will heal, and that the injury to his ears is minimal, despite the blood.</p><p>When she’s done talking, is silent for a moment and then Mac nods. Hesitantly, he asks, “So Jack… he wasn’t there?”</p><p>Riley’s face crumbles, and she says no.</p><p>Mac sighs and leans back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He’s glad he got out of the torture room - really he is, but a small, very small part of him deep down was relieved to see Jack, even if it wasn’t really Jack.</p><p>And that part of him, wishes he was still back in the room talking and insanely laughing with Jack.</p><p>The End.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know while there was a teensy tiny bit of hurt/comfort this was overall very angsty. Sorry :/</p><p>I hope everyone's staying safe and healthy during these troubling times.<br/>Come say hi on <a href="https://art-in-the-sunlight.tumblr.com">my tumblr :)</a><br/>If you enjoyed, consider leaving a kudos and comment?<br/><br/>Emoji Key for those who don't know what to say!<br/>❤ = you wish you could kudos again<br/>👍 = you enjoyed reading it<br/>💕 = S5E05 was bullshit. We didn't see a body, so Jack is still alive! (Mac just doesn't know it yet).<br/>😭 = this was too angsty!! Where is my hurt/comfort + angst with a happy ending!<br/> </p></blockquote></div></div>
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